Despite what you’ve heard, brick-and-mortar isn’t dead. In fact, 61% of shoppers would rather shop with brands that also have a physical location than ones that are online only. Because sometimes, you just need something now — right now. Nearly 80% of shoppers will go to the store to buy when they have an item they need or want immediately.

People may still shop in stores most often, but they’re searching on their smartphones beforehand to make sure it’s worth the trip. As we were reminded during the 2017 holiday shopping season, a great deal of shopping research is coming from mobile: 78% of holiday shoppers who visited a store turned to online search before going into a store. What are they asking for help with before they go? Here’s what we found.

Help inspire my purchase

Shoppers turn to search before heading to the store when they don’t have a product or brand in mind. Mobile searches for “__ brands” are rising, as in “sock brands” (+150%), “men’s watch brands” (+70%), “best purse brands” (+140%), “makeup brands” (+150%). They’re also looking for helpful recommendations on what to buy — searches for reviews on mobile have increased by more than 35% over the past two years.

Help plan my in-store trip

Research tells us that half of people who used search before shopping looked for details about the store itself, such as locations or proximity. Get this: in the past two years, we’ve seen over 150% growth in mobile searches for “__ near me now” (“food near me now,” “gas station near me now,” and “delivery near me open now”). In addition to queries for local businesses near them, people are relying on their phones to check store hours, directions, wait times, contact information, and increasingly, product availability. In fact, 40% of shoppers wish retailers would do a better job of sharing inventory information.

Help narrow down my purchase options

Once they’ve homed in on a few options, people search on mobile to help make a final decision. They’re researching a purchase they plan to make in stores or to find the best option for their needs. We know shoppers are on the hunt for the best deals. How so? Because 43% of those who used their phone in stores over the holidays to shop said they did so to look for deals or savings, and 52% of shoppers think getting deals on their smartphone while in stores is a shopping trend that is both cool and something they’d use. Even more, 50% of shoppers say they use online video while actually shopping in stores.

Making mobile count

With so many people relying on their smartphones before shopping in store, the need for strategic and informed product content has never been more essential. Omnichannel retail leaders must prioritize the mobile experience — it could mean the difference between customers coming into your store primed and ready to buy, or leaving frustrated and empty-handed. – Read more

4G brought about video streaming, app stores, programmatic auctions and an entry point into the world of virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence. With 5G, experts say advertisers and publishers should expect much more.

Imagine hopping in an autonomous vehicle and calling up Amazon Alexa to prep for dinner. A holographic display appears on your dashboard and directs you through the steps of a recipe, based on your diet preferences and meal history, as you drive to Whole Foods to pick up the ingredients, which are already being assembled robotically.

That is a (realistic) vision of the future with 5G, according to Scott Singer, managing director at consultancy DDG. Singer and other experts say 5G brings with it the ability to process and exchange more data at higher speeds, so advertisers and publishers can expect to see faster ad-load times on desktop and mobile and more connected devices.

Today, when a visitor to a website clicks a link, there is a slight delay before a server responds, resulting in milliseconds to seconds of nothing apparently happening. It’s an issue that causes visitors to click away from an article or site, and one reason behind the adoption of ad blockers, according to a study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau. But 5G will effectively eliminate that delay, said Jeremy Lockhorn, vp of experience strategy for mobile and emerging technology at agency SapientRazorfish, resulting in faster ad-load times and happier users. The FCC states that 5G is 1,000 times faster than 4G with 100 times less latency. Singer said he wouldn’t be surprised if the use of ad blockers begins to diminish because of webpages loading at quicker speeds. – Read more

With more than 50% of worldwide search traffic now coming from mobile devices and with Google making big changes to better support mobile search, if you haven’t focused on it, now is the time to start. – Read